Consumer Insurance Blog

Next week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. If you own a dog, you need to pay attention because dog bites accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claim dollars paid out in 2012, costing more than $489 million. While the number of bites has declined, the cost of claims continues to rise - the average cost paid out for dog bite claims was $29,752. For more on the ins and outs of insurance issues related to dog ownership, see our prior post, Insurance and Your Dog.

Postal workers - a group of folks who are particularly at risk of dog bites - issued their annual list of top dog attack city rankings, along with their tips for preventing dog bites ... and they certainly have experience in that area. If you haven't yet seen it, visit former mail carrier Ryan Bradford's posting, All the Dogs Want to Kill Me, where he logged snapshots of dogs lurking on his postal route a few years ago. It's pretty amusing, unless you are the postal worker or the gas meter reader who has to face the pets down. Here's a few clips that demonstrate just how territorial and aggressive even seemingly sweet dogs can be over mail deliveries.

In addition to mail carriers, kids are also very vulnerable when it comes to dog bites. Here are some good sites for teaching your kids how to be safe.

Teaching kids how to have safe encounters with dogs

Prevent the Bite - preventing dog bites to children through education

Learn to Speak Dog and Teach Your Kids

Dog Bite Prevention - from the CDC

This is a guest post by Penny Hanley & Howley Co., a Renaissance Alliance member agency. It is a post that was previously featured on the Agency's Blog.

Will your graduating students be coming back to the nest, or considering renting their own place?

This is a wonderful time in your student's life. Graduation from college brings on so many new adventures to look forward to. One of which can include whether they will be renting their own apartment after graduation. With some many decisions to process after graduation, make the easiest one there is for your student who will be moving to their first apartment-Renters Insurance.

Purchasing Renters Insurance for your student is a gift of security for them and yourself. You'll be putting your mind at ease knowing that your students first apartment is protected in case of fire or theft.

An average Renters policy runs around $200 a year for the basic $20,000 in coverage, that's only $16 a month for your piece of mind and security of your student's new apartment.

So when considering what gift to give your student for graduation this year, give them a protection policy with Renters Insurance.

We all know that the real answer is "incalculable" - but in stark economic terms, if you were hiring a Mom, you would need to pay about $113,568. There's quite a bit of overtime figured into that number - the average Mom works about 94 hours a week.

Salary.com has been tracking how much money Moms are worth since 2008 and they have a lot of interesting data, slide shows and infographics - including a calculator for you to calculate your own Mom's worth.

Regardless of the dollars and cents, we think Mom is an underpaid worker. Don't forget to call or visit her this weekend!

Canada's Heart & Stroke Association poses the question: What will your last 10 years look like? It's a short, though provoking clip that reminds us that health choices we make today will dictate the quality of our life later.

If you fear you might be on the path of the person on the right, it's never too late to make some healthy changes. Here's a few places to start. The New England Journal of Medicine recently published the results of a study about the Mediterranean diet. The study found people at high risk for coronary artery disease could reduce their risks of stroke, heart attack and death from coronary artery disease by 30% by relying on a Mediterranean style of eating. Learn more about a more about a Mediterranean diet from the Mayo Clinic.

If you need more exercise, the CDC offers guidance on how much physical activity you need, based on your age. The CDC also offers guidance for adding physical activity to your life.

OK, tax day is over - you can breathe a sigh of relief.

But wait - don't relax yet. April is Financial Literacy month - just how savvy are you about your finances? You can test your knowledge with these financial literacy quizzes and see how you stack up compared to based on high-school seniors across the country. The quizzes are part of the Jump$tart
Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing financial literacy among students in pre-kindergarten through college.

If your scores are embarrassing, don't despair. There are some excellent consumer tools to help you get your financial house in order. Here are a few:

• As part of Financial Literacy Month, the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America would like to help motivate you to save. To sweeten the pot, they are giving away $500 to help one person reach their savings goal. Pledge to save by signing up to receive periodic text tips on saving, and you might win. You must sign up between April 1 and April 30, 2013 and you must be 18 years of age or older to win. Plus, standard text messaging rates might apply, depending on your plan.

• 30 Steps to Financial Wellness offers 30 days of tips and tools to help you get your financial house in order and improve your overall financial position. Don't miss the Tools for Success.

• MyMoney.gov - a resource brought to you by 20 agencies and bureaus of the U.S. Federal government that work on improving financial literacy and education. It includes great tools, such as Budgeting Worksheets, Calculators, and Checklists.

• 360 Days of Financial Literacy - tools from the American Institute of CPAs.

Monday's tragic events at the Boston Marathon have left many of us shaken - particularly being in our own backyard and affecting people we may know. But true to the cliche, even this cloud had a silver lining - evidenced by the incredible bravery of first responders, medical personnel and many private citizens who put their own lives at risk to save others. No doubt, more lives would have been lost without the courage of "the helpers."

It's hard for any of us to come to grips with senseless violence, but particularly hard for kids. On the web page Tragic Events in the News, Fred Rogers offers resources, tips and discussion about how to put scary, confusing disasters and world events into perspective for kids. Some of his sensible, comforting advice is good for adults, too!

Also see Resources in the Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing, a list of helpful links from our Employee Assistance Program.

Ways You Can Help
The One Fund - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino have announced the formation of The One Fund Boston, Inc. to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.

American Red Cross - You can always donate funds or blood to the American Red Cross - but you may want to wait a few weeks. Right now, the Red Cross says it has sufficient funds and blood supply to deal with events in Boston, but the need for blood is constant. People often rush to donate to a specific tragedy but donating on a regular basis can be more helpful.

Boston Children's Hospital continues to aid in the recovery following the explosions. You can support the hospital's efforts with a donation to the Marathon Program, which supports the hospital's areas of greatest need, or the Emergency and Trauma fund, which helps kids and families get the emergency treatment they need when tragedy strikes.

The Insurance Information Institute has released a "Know Your Coverage" iPhone App. Below, find a screen shot and the app's description from the download site.

"Do you have the right insurance coverage if your home and belongings are damaged or destroyed by a fire, flood, earthquake, or other catastrophe? Getting the peace of mind that comes with insurance isn't rocket science; it's about knowing your stuff, knowing the risks involved and understanding your priorities. The Know Your Coverage app features interactive quizzes that guide you through key questions to discuss with your Insurance Professional. Together, you can work out a coverage plan for your needs and budget. But it's not just about stuff... with the right amount and type of insurance, you can focus on what really matters--your work, family, friends and hobbies--without having to worry about the "what-ifs" in life."

This is one in a series of "Know Your X" apps ... find other apps from the Insurance Information Institute - get a home inventory app called "Know Your Stuff" and a disaster planning app called "Know Your Plan."

He's been called the world's greatest conman. Leonardo DiCaprio played him in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can - based on his successful cons while impersonating a Pan Am pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor. And he might just be one of the best people to listen to when it comes to protecting your identity.

Today, Frank Abagnale is one of the world's most respected authorities on the subjects of forgery, embezzlement and secure documents. He's been consulting with the FBI and with governments, businesses, and financial institutions around the globe for more than 35 years.

We spotted a recent article in The Guardian about how Facebook users risk identity theft that offers some great security tips from Frank - its worth reading. His biggest message is not to expect social media companies to protect your identity - its your responsibility to stay safe. Some of his advice:

"If you tell me your date of birth and where you're born [on Facebook] I'm 98% [of the way] to stealing your identity," he said. "Never state your date of birth and where you were born [on personal profiles], otherwise you are saying 'come and steal my identity'."

He also advised Facebook users to never choose a passport-style photograph as a profile picture, and instead use group photographs.

The Autism Society has been celebrating National Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s. According to the Autism Society, autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. The prevalence of autism had risen to 1 in every 88 births in the United States and almost 1 in 54 boys.

Here are some autism resources for parents, teachers and friends:

• The Autism NOW Center us the nation's source for resources and information on community-based solutions for individuals with autism, other developmental disabilities, and their families.
• Autism Speaks - Resource Library
• National Autism Resources
• 10 Tech Resources for the Autism Community

Here are two autism-related video clips that we enjoy. The first clip is by Temple Grandin, perhaps the worlds most famous person living with autism. Diagnosed with autism as a child, she talks about how her mind works -- sharing her ability to "think in pictures," which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids.

The second video is an uncle talking with and about his autistic nephew. Its by the Winn Brothers from the What You Ought to Know series.

The purpose of insurance is to offer you financial protection from accidental risks and calamities that may befall you. But even when you are properly insured, it's still in your best interests to try to manage those risks as best you can because insurance may not make you whole - particularly when the risk involves life and limb. We often don't do a good job of managing our risks. Sometimes, what we fear the most is actually less risky than other common every day occurrences - so human nature being what it is, people often worry more about rare events and can be too casual about dangers that are more pervasive. What's really dangerous? This graphic about danger and "20 surprising safety statistics" illustrates that point pretty well - we found it interesting so thought we'd share. Click here to view a larger version and the source.